Bringing workers to New Zealand

Employers and supporting agencies can request to bring workers into New Zealand if they are deemed ‘other critical workers’. Employers are still expected to genuinely seek to fill job vacancies with New Zealanders.

Requests for critical workers are considered on a case-by-case basis by Immigration New Zealand officials.

There are 3 categories, each with their own criteria, where you can bring employees into New Zealand:

• worker needed for a short term role — less than 6 months in total
• worker needed for a long term role — more than 6 months
• worker for an approved class.

Holding an Essential Skills work visa is not enough to qualify as an ‘other critical worker’.

Employers, supporting agencies or immigration professionals who want to request for a critical worker to travel to New Zealand can apply by completing the Employer request for critical worker exception form.

Applications for seasonal workers will generally not be approved.

Requests are generally processed within 2 weeks.

Apply by completing Employer request for critical worker exception form

A worker coming to New Zealand for a short term role (less than six months in total) is considered an ‘other critical worker’ if:

• they have unique experience and technical or specialist skills not readily obtainable in New Zealand, or
• they are undertaking a time-critical role for:
  • an approved major infrastructure project, or a government approved event or a major government-approved programme
  • an approved government-to-government agreement
  • work with significant wider benefit to the national or regional economy. 

‘Time critical’ means if the person does not come to New Zealand the project, work or event will stop or be severely compromised, or significant costs will be incurred.

‘Unique experience and technical or specialist skills not readily obtainable in New Zealand’ can include, but is not limited to, skills and experiences such as expertise gained in a specialist training institution or by working in a highly-specialist firm, or can be shown by having global experience, or skills and experiences inherent to a person.

Skills are considered not readily obtainable if there are no workers in New Zealand who can do the role, or there is a limited pool of available workers who can do the role and they are not available to the employer.

Applications for seasonal workers will generally not be approved. The only exceptions will be if the work is highly skilled or uniquely specialised. This may include:

• highly specialist domestic veterinarians
• vendor-appointed engineers required to install major equipment
• an actor in a key film role.

A worker coming to New Zealand for the long term (six months or longer) is considered an ‘other critical worker’ if they meet one of the criteria for short term workers and:

• they earn at least twice the median salary — NZD $106,080 a year, or
• they have a role essential for the completion or continuation of a science programme under a government funded or partially government-funded contract, including research and development exchanges and partnerships, and have the support of the Science, Innovation and International Branch at MBIE to travel to New Zealand to carry out their work, or
• their role is essential for the delivery or execution of:
  • a government-approved event, or
  • major government-approved programme, or
  • approved major infrastructure project.

Events, projects and programmes approved for other critical workers

If you are seeking the support of the Science Innovation and International Branch of MBIE, you need to provide as much information as you can about the role and why it is critical, including:

• an explanation of the unique skills of the individual and why they are critical to the science programme
• the specific project or programme title
• the title of the role being filled
• a reference to a named government fund fully or partially covering the science programme
• a contract ID or a copy of the funding contract, or both. 

A worker coming to New Zealand may be considered an ‘other critical worker’ if they:

• are in a class of worker approved by Ministers
• have been nominated by an authorised government agency or an industry group

The relevant government agency or industry group will assess whether the worker meets the requirements of the class, before the worker can be nominated. For example, the worker may be required to have work experience or specific qualifications.

We do not make nominations nor accept requests to be nominated. You must first engage with the relevant government agency or industry group before submitting a request.

Approved classes of workers

Immigration New Zealand will review the request and provide advice to their senior officials before a decision is made.

Most requests for other critical workers are decided within 2 weeks from submission.

Immigration New Zealand will contact workers whose employers receive approval for an exception to the border restrictions as ‘other critical workers,’ and invite them to apply for a Critical Purpose Visitor Visa or a Critical Purpose Variation of Conditions to allow them to travel to New Zealand. We will email them information about how to make their application online.

Workers who are invited to apply for a visa will need to pay the immigration fee and levies (if applicable) as part of their application.

Due to high demand workers might not be able to enter New Zealand and begin managed isolation on their preferred date and at their preferred location. This will mean some workers’ arrival is delayed.

A voucher confirming a place in a managed isolation facility needs to be arranged before boarding a flight.

Managed isolation and quarantine

Managed Isolation charges

New charges will apply to all people entering New Zealand on a critical worker visa from 1 January 2021, regardless of when the visa was approved.

Charges for critical workers in managed isolation | MIQ

Ship approval

New Zealand crew

Ships may enter if all aboard are New Zealand citizens or permanent residents - quarantine and entry restrictions apply.

Maritime sector | Ministry of Health

Foreign crew on foreign-flagged ships

The following foreign-flagged ships with foreign crew are permitted to enter New Zealand without applying for approval from the Ministry of Health or Immigration New Zealand:

• an Antarctic ship travelling to and from the Ross Dependency
• a foreign state ship which is a military craft granted diplomatic clearance by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade 
• a commercial cargo ship arriving in New Zealand to load or unload cargo
• a ship that has an emergency and is in distress or it is necessary for the ship to arrive in New Zealand to preserve human life.

The following types of foreign-flagged ship with foreign crew can apply to the Ministry of Health to enter:

• any other ship that needs to reprovision, refuel, be delivered to a business for non-minor repair, refit or refurbishment or for the running of the business or other humanitarian or compelling need.

The following type of foreign-flagged ship must get permission from Immigration New Zealand to allow its foreign crew to enter:

• a fishing ship unloading its catch, reprovisioning, refuelling, embarking or disembarking its crew.
• an Antarctic ship not travelling from the Ross Dependency
• other foreign state ships granted diplomatic clearance by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• any ship that needs to reprovision, refuel, be delivered to a business for repair, refit or refurbishment or for the running of the business or other humanitarian or compelling need.

Foreign crew on New Zealand-flagged ships

The following types of New Zealand-flagged ships with foreign crew can enter without applying for approval from the Ministry of Health or Immigration New Zealand:

• an Antarctic ship travelling to and from the Ross Dependency
• a commercial cargo ship arriving in New Zealand to load or unload cargo
• a foreign state ship which is a military craft granted diplomatic clearance by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• a ship that has an emergency and is in distress or it is necessary for the ship to arrive in New Zealand to preserve human life.

The following type of New Zealand-flagged ship must get permission from Immigration New Zealand to allow its foreign crew to enter:

• an Antarctic ship not travelling from the Ross Dependency
• a fishing ship unloading its catch, reprovisioning, refuelling, embarking or disembarking its crew
• other foreign state ships granted diplomatic clearance by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
• any other type of ship that needs to be delivered to a business for non-minor repair, refit or refurbishment or for the running of the business.

Crew approval

Ship owners, authorised agents and employers of crew can submit a request for foreign crew to travel to New Zealand on approved ships.

Crew must be essential for the operation of the ship to travel to New Zealand. Other types of crew and passengers are not permitted.

Ships seeking to travel for pleasure are not permitted to travel to New Zealand.

Include the following information on travel requests for all foreign crew members:

• the ship permission approval document from the Ministry of Health if required
• a copy of their passport page, including a photograph and passport information
• completed form
• a letter from the employer or shipping agent.

Approval in Principle for Marine Crew arriving by the maritime border request form (INZ 1350) PDF 259KB

Requests from individual crew members will not be considered.

Approved crew members will be invited to apply for a visa or variation of visa conditions to allow them to travel to New Zealand.

From January to March 2021, up to 2,000 experienced RSE scheme workers from the Pacific can travel to New Zealand for the 2021 horticulture and viticulture season. 

Arrivals will transfer directly to government managed isolation facilities for a 14-day stay. 

Only workers who have completed at least 1 season in New Zealand already are eligible. 

All Pacific countries were invited to participate and needed to demonstrate they can meet the criteria, which includes a guaranteed return flight home for workers at the end of the season. 

The first Samoan workers arrived in New Zealand in mid-January.

INZ is supporting Pacific officials with information and updates on the changes for this season. 

Employers need an Agreement to Recruit (ATR)

Only employers with an ATR will be able to employ offshore RSE workers. The ATR requires employers to show they have taken all reasonable steps to train and employ New Zealanders before seeking a migrant worker. The Ministry of Social Development is consulted in this process.

Eligible employers will be required to make additional commitments regarding flight costs, managed isolation and quarantine requirements, work conditions including paying workers NZD $22.10 an hour, and pastoral care. They will also be required to ensure workers are employed for the full period of their visa, help workers move to areas of greatest demand and provide progress reports.

The horticulture and viticulture industries consulted with employers to provide INZ a list of nominated workers to recruit from Pacific countries.